Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish Michelle O'Neill, the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and all the other politicians well. With the devolved government returning to Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Members of the Legislative Assembly are now tasked with addressing a backlog of public sector challenges. This comes after a period since February 2022 when the Northern Ireland Civil Service had to shoulder the burden of running the country without ministerial direction. During this period with no Executive, senior officials continued to manage government Departments based on the policy direction set by the Executive prior to the collapse.

The past two years, however, have seen Stormont's budget under severe strain, with budget cuts imposed by Westminster, partially due to the overspend resulting from the prolonged absence of a functioning Executive. This has made the situation much worse. The cuts have had a significant impact on vital health services, leading to longer waiting times for diagnosis and preventative treatments. In particular, health providers are struggling to meet the increasing demand for mental health services. Without access to emotional resilience tools, the potential for further harm to some of Northern Ireland's most vulnerable and marginalised communities is likely to increase.

I take this opportunity to wish all the politicians there good luck in their work. It is a very important job. As I always say about politics, to have people debating, engaging in their work and using their brains and political skills is a lot better than violence. I am grateful to those from all parties, North and South, as well as the religious and lay people who were involved.

I will relay a funny story. I remember the time Timothy O'Sullivan from Kilgobnet in Beaufort and I were above there playing our part in cross-Border relations. I thought we would have to send for Timothy O again if they did not get going now, but thankfully they have.

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